The society is very excited about its next production, Jekyll & Hyde in November 2006. Open evenings will be held shortly for anyone interested in the society or this production in particular - full details on the society
website.

other notes

New members always welcome - contact Chris Edmunds for details.

The following is a review by the critic Jackie Davies of the South Wales Argus.
First published on Thursday 02 December 2004:

Tickets are flying!
Newport Operatic Society put heart and soul into their production of Scrooge the Musical, at the Dolman Theatre, Newport.

Adapted by Leslie Bricusse from the classic Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol, in 1970, this typical Victorian tale has lost none of its sentimentality and has gained a rich vein of humour.

The curtain opens on Christmas Eve, 1843. Eben-ezer Scrooge, a miserly old man is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Marley who warns him that
he must change his ways or indeed face the consequences.

All credit must go to Phil Evans, barely recognisable as Scrooge, thanks to an excellent clothing and make up department.

He clearly relishes the role and produces a rich, rounded character

His clear and controlled performance is the ideal springboard from which the other characters bounce.

Bob Clark as Bob Cratchit gives a memorable performance and Wesley Maddocks as the vulnerable Tiny Tim shows a maturity way beyond his years.

With the help of some clever lighting and special effects, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future keep younger members of the audience
interested while at the same time providing the moral of the tale in convincing Scrooge of the error of his ways.

The large, well-rehearsed cast mange to keep the pace brisk, even through some fairly difficult scenery changes.

Well choreographed and with some very rousing choruses, the prolonged applause at the finale was well deserved.